The body is amazing in its capacity to heal and stay slim with the right food and a minimum of the right exercise.
There is no one diet that fits all. But if you have failed many times then that is actually a good thing because then you can rule out what did not work. Some of the diets you have tried will have certain parts that did work to some degree which can serve to put you in the right direction.

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Tuesday, 14 October 2014

Does Intermittent Fasting Really Work?

There’s a new trend in dieting these days—not eating. Yup, “fasting” became a popular trend in the U.K. with The Fast Diet by Dr. Michael Mosley and has trickled over to the states in several variations, including The 8-Hour Diet by David Zinczenko, consulting editorial director at American Media, Inc. And while fasting itself is certainly not a novel concept (people have been doing it for religious reasons for hundreds of years), “intermittent fasting” as a weight loss method seems to be the new trend. But is it safe? And does it reallywork?We talked to fitness and nutrition expert JJ Virgin, bariatric surgeon Dr. Marina Kurian and Dr. John M. Berardi of Precision Nutrition to find out.

While there are different levels of intermittent fasting (IF) diets, two of the most buzzed about are The FastDiet and The 8-Hour Diet.The Fast Diet, sometimes referred to the 5:2 diet, encourages people to eat normally five days per week, and trim calorie intake down to 500 to 600 calories total for two non-consecutive days. In terms of weight loss, participants can expect to shed about one to two pounds per week, says Dr. Mosley on his website. The 8-Hour Diet, on the other hand, limits the window of time for calorie consumption to eight hours per day, which is supposed to make the body burn fat and calories more efficiently. According to MensHealth.com (the brand author Zinczenko used to work for), The8-Hour Diet works on a cellular level and triggers the energy centers of the body’s cells (mitochondria) to selectively burn fat for energy. The diet is also said to reduce the amount of cancer-causing cell damage caused by the typical American diet, the site says.

Both diets claim that, in addition to helping participants lose weight (and keep it off), they’ll also help regulate blood sugar, possibly prevent diabetes, slow the ageing process, and prevent or minimize risk of heart disease. So far, these claims have only been supported by small human studies or animal studies. Our experts also noted that there isn’t much scientific research in support of IF diets as effective, long-term weight loss plans.

Still, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re meritless, assuming you’re a healthy individual with realistic weight loss goals, some experts suggest. The positive aspect of these weight loss plans is that they challenge people to get in touch with hunger levels, says JJ Virgin, nutrition and fitness expert, author of The Virgin Diet. “Usually we’re eating because we are tired, thirsty or bored. Ask yourself why you’re eating again,” Virgin says.

Learning the difference between when you think you’re hungry and when you’reactually hungry was one of the biggest takeaways for John M. Berardi, MD, Chief Science Officer of Precision Nutrition and author of Experiments with Intermittent Fasting (based on his own experiments with various intermittent fasting plans over the course of six months).

“Trial fasting is a great way to practice managing hunger,” says Dr. Berardi. “It’s an essential skill for anyone who wants to get in shape and stay healthy and fit.” Though Dr. Berardi started off at a healthy weight, he lost 20 pounds in six months and reduced his body fat from 10 percent to four percent while maintaining most of his lean muscle mass, he says.

But is it dangerous?

While people should always check with their doctor before starting any weight loss plan, there are certain individuals who should steer clear of this type of diet, says Marina Kurian, MD, assistant professor of bariatric surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center. Those with insulin resistance issues, diabetics, pregnant women and people with low blood sugar should not try these plans, she says, as they could be dangerous to their health.

Virgin says this diet might also be problematic for women who are under chronic stress and have adrenal issues. “You’ll be stressing your body out more by following an intermittent fasting plan, which can lead to insomnia and possibly fertility issues,” Virgin says. Research has linked very low-calorie diets to chronic psychological stress and cortisol production, which has been shown to interfere with weight loss. The bottom line? If following this diet stresses you out or interferes with your sleep patterns, it could also impede weight loss.

Intermittent fasting could also be problematic for individuals with bingeing issues, or anyone who might have trouble controlling how much they’re eating on the non-fasting days. “Don’t let five of those days [or eight hours] be free-for-alls,” says Virgin. Both diets encourage eating wholesome, nutritious foods as often as possible during the times you’re not fasting.

Do fasting and exercise play nice?

As long as you’re adequately hydrated, Dr. Kurian says light to moderate exercise on lower-calorie days is generally safe, assuming you feel up to it. But if you don’t have the energy for exercise (or feel light-headed or dizzy), it may be best to save your strength for higher-calorie days. Plus, because exercise causes the body to burn through its glycogen stores, it’s important you’re able to refuel with a balanced meal or snack (including protein, carbs and fat), optimally within 30 minutes of working out.

If you already follow a regular exercise routine, it may be best to save your most intense workouts for days when you’re not fasting. After all, the goal should be to make the most of your workout session and that’s more likely to happen when you’re properly fueled with quality calories, Virgin says.

And though it’s not dangerous to follow if you’re a healthy individual, Dr. Kurian says, she wouldn’t recommend this weight loss plan to her patients.

“You have to know what you’re capable of doing for a diet,” says Dr. Kurian. Instead, she recommends people aim to lose about a pound a week for long-term sustainable weight loss.

“Ask yourself if you can do this for life. It’s important to follow a weight loss plan you can maintain long term,” Dr. Kurian says. It’s also key to have a plan in place for the maintenance phase, after you’ve hit your weight loss goal. Otherwise, you’ll be more likely to regain the weight assuming following these fasting plans isn’t feasible for the rest of your life, she says.

Intermittent fasting can work, but it’s not for everyone—nor does it need to be, Dr. Berardi says. “In the end, IF is just one approach, among many effective ones, for improving health, performance and body composition.”

4 comments:

Thanks for the brilliant piece of information. As an overweight I often experience discrimination, which may lead to depression. As Society placing so much importance on the appearance of being thin. This approach of society gave me a think to lean myself. First I thought to take fat burners but my friend stopped me he said it’s dangerous for liver. He suggested me to reduce weight by doing Intermittent fasting, my question is that. Is it a safe way? Waiting for your reply.

Intermittent fasting is safe if you are well nourished and above your minimum amount of fat (around 5% for men and 10% for women). This means you are receiving adequate amounts of essential amino acids, essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Your question is very well worded because you should not just cut foods out randomly when you fast as that could mean you becoming deficient in many nutrients when you just want to get rid of some calories. (I would suggest you have a very large green leafy salad or a soup made with plenty of vegetables to get your vitamins and minerals. Some quality protein like half an ounce of liver, an egg or some oysters to get your vitamin B12. Natto or hard cheese for vitamin K2. Cod liver oil for vitamin D. (These last 3 vitamins are not present in plants so you can't get them in your salad or vegetable soup).

I would cut out the foods that are high in fats, sugars, starches and flours because these have the lowest micro nutrients and macro nutrient diversity of foods. Be selective when with what ingredients you take with you on a fast.

As an alternative to the 5:2 I suggest the following because it seems easier:Build up your fasting hours gradually to test whether it suits you or not. So if you have your last meal 2 hours before bed, try to have that meal 3 hours before. Then 4 hours. If you can manage that then try 5 hours. It has to be manageable otherwise don't do it. (The 2 reasons why I picked before sleep is firstly it is easy to remember and secondly; because your growth hormone reaches a peak within the first 2-3 hours of sleep. If you are still producing a lot of insulin by eating before bed it blunts the growth hormone release.)

The recommendations for intermittent fasting is usually 2-3 days maximum in a week during which your your growth hormone and testosterone reach higher peaks than on a shorter fast. These hormones help with preserving muscle and increase fat burning.

I hope that was useful. I really like that question. For a longer discussion I am going to put this question in the blog because I am limited by how many words I can use in a comment.

Ben your comment on fat burners is interesting. I am glad you are looking around for a solution rather than just going for something easy.

With a fat burner you are taking something to enhance your rate of burning fat. But what happens when you stop taking it. You get the fat back. So you will need to keep buying them forever.

But that is only the half of it because your body adapts to it over time and it becomes less effective - you need to increase the dosage then.

Part of the liver's job is to break down toxic compounds so adding more chemicals to the body adds a lot more work for the liver to do. This has knock on effects that can slowly damage the liver and other organs.

Most fat burners contain caffeine.

If you have become reliant on a fat burner and you stop taking it you can develop very strong withdrawal symptoms that make you feel like you can't operate normally without it.

Some fat burner's stimulate the adrenal glands. You make a lot more adrenaline and this keeps you pumped up. If you overstimulate the adrenals for a prolonged time they get exhausted and produce less adrenaline. So when you don't have the fat burner you can feel so tired all the time as your body is no longer producing enough adrenal hormones. So you go back on them.

The answer to fat loss is abundant nutrition and very little of the correct exercise.

About Me

Hello,
I have always had a great deal of difficulty with my weight, For a time, I was spending nearly 2 hours running daily to keep down my weight, performing full body exercises and thousands of crunches (wherever watching TV) just to maintain a healthy weight. Eventually, the excessive activity caused me to injure myself and then I was unable to run. The fat piled on slowly at first then quickly.
Probably, what hurt more than the injury was the comments people said about me. Day after day someone would say something derogatory about my weight - as if making me feel worse could possibly make them feel better!
This eventually got to me. It made me look for other ways to lose fat without relying on hours of cardio training. Today, I find it much easier to maintain a healthy weight without putting myself at great risk of injury and without spending hours exercising. I know there are many people out there who struggle with weight issues and by sharing what has helped me may also help you on your exciting journey to a new slimmer you. I know what it feels like to be at the end of all the teasing and pranks so look forward to sharing any helpful suggestions with you.